Final-General-Education-Curriculum-Student-Learning-Outcomes-2019-1

Student Learning Outcomes for the General Education Curriculum UNIVERSITY GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE September 11, 2019... GENERAL EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON Gener

Student Learning Outcomes

for the General Education Curriculum

UNIVERSITY GENERAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

September 11, 2019

GENERAL EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY WASHINGTON

General Education is the foundation of a liberal arts education and is designed to cultivate the skills, knowledge, values, and habits of mind that are essential in every field of study and which enable graduates to make effective decisions as citizens of a rapidly changing, richly diverse, and increasingly interconnected world The University’s General Education requirements introduce students to a variety of learning perspectives and methods of inquiry, which combine to foster an appreciation of the connections between different ways of viewing, knowing, and engaging with the world In particular, the General Education curriculum should:

- develop core skills that enable students to understand, evaluate, articulate, and advance their ideas and the ideas of others Across their General Education courses,

students learn to think critically, analyze data, evaluate evidence and the arguments and theories grounded in that evidence, conduct research thoroughly and with

integrity, write and speak effectively, and be in command of the technologies that define not only 21st-century communication but also the emerging tools of different disciplines

- challenge students to explore issues, solve problems, and learn though multiple methodological approaches General Education offers a wide-range of courses

challenging students to make connections across their course of study and to explore the variety of ways they can understand and apply what they learn They achieve this through studying complex problems and issues in the arts, humanities, quantitative reasoning, and natural and social sciences

- prepare students to engage knowledgably and responsibly with a changing,

complicated, and multi-dimensional world University of Mary Washington students

must understand and appreciate global connections, differences, cultures, languages, environments, and change These courses require students to be both individual and collaborative learners, solve problems systematically and creatively, and find

opportunities to explore beyond the classroom experiences such as undergraduate research, internships, study abroad, and engagement in community and civic life

These goals were the basis for the development of the new General Education curriculum, where requirements were placed into three overarching categories: Foundations, Methods of

Investigation, and Connections Courses in the Foundations category will establish skills for later success at UMW, are fundamental to the liberal arts, and ideally should be taken early in the academic career Methods of Investigation consist of lower level courses that explore how

different disciplines approach critical thinking, research, and problem-solving Connections courses will build on prior requirements to help students make links between classroom

knowledge, the world, and their life beyond UMW This arrangement of the courses emphasizes the skills and knowledge that will be gained from each required course and clarifies the benefits that will be acquired through the completion of the General Education curriculum through this framework

The General Education curriculum and the Honor System are both integral parts of the

educational experience at UMW It is expected that students will devote their authentic selves to

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each course, will learn and respect relevant disciplinary norms, and will conduct themselves with integrity in accordance with the honor pledge made upon arriving at Mary Washington in the completion of this curriculum

Presented below is the General Education curriculum approved by the full Faculty in April 2019

It is followed by rationales and learning outcomes for each requirement approved by the

University Faculty Council in September 2019

NEW GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM

First Year Seminar One course designated as a first year seminar

Written

Communication Three courses designated Writing Intensive

Oral Communication One course designated Speaking Intensive

Language

Intermediate competency in a second language defined as the

completion of any 201 course (Details on other options for

satisfying this requirement on page 9.)

Reasoning One course focusing on quantitative information

Social Science One course in the social sciences

Two additional courses from two different Methods of Investigation

Beyond the Classroom

One faculty supervised experience involving a significant

experiential learning component designed to challenge students to

go outside of the bounds of the typical classroom

After Mary

Washington

One experience focused on translating the liberal arts experience for

life after Mary Washington

Writing in the Major All students are required to complete one additional course

designated Writing Intensive in their major(s)

Speaking in the Major All students are required to complete one additional course

designated Speaking Intensive in their major(s)

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First Year Seminar

Rationale: The first-year seminar (FSEM) course is designed to help students cultivate the

knowledge, skills, and habits of mind necessary for liberal learning through the in-depth study of

a topic in a seminar setting; the FSEM is to be taken in the first semester of enrollment by all first-time, full-time students This is a transitional class that introduces students to college

coursework and establishes fundamental skills in the areas of information literacy, writing, and oral communication

Learning Outcomes:

 Students will utilize a variety of research techniques to retrieve information efficiently, evaluate retrieved information, and synthesize information effectively to support their messages or arguments

 Students will improve development and organization of written arguments

 Students will demonstrate the ability to edit and revise in the writing process

 Students will apply the basic theories and principles of oral communication

 Students will communicate effectively in a variety of settings, including public speaking and group discussion

Oral and Written Communication

Rationale: One of the University of Mary Washington’s signature strengths lies in the

development of students’ written and oral communication abilities, which happens formally in designated Writing Intensive (WI) and Speaking Intensive (SI) courses Building on the

foundational skills established through first year seminar courses, WI and SI courses develop focused thinking and written or oral communication skills in the context of specific subject matter and disciplinary areas Additionally, UMW students do significant writing and speaking

in other courses that are not formally designated as either WI or SI The current UMW academic experience, therefore, builds student competence in two important learning priorities that

executives and hiring managers have identified “very important skills for recent college

graduates we are hiring.”1

The General Education Committee recommends that the written and oral communication be structured in a way that incorporates a progressive nature into the requirements so that

communication skills are built and strengthened by successive courses This objective is

accomplished by requiring that all students take one WI and one SI course in their major (either

as an elective or a requirement in each of their majors) This change helps ensure that students will not be exposed solely to basic instruction, but that they will be challenged to develop higher-level skills through courses in the major Communication in the major will demand increased sophistication in the expression and evaluation of ideas and arguments through writing and speaking Development of crucial skills for effective communication in their chosen discipline will enable students to transition more successfully from the undergraduate environment to post-graduate destinations in careers or post-graduate study A survey of the majors indicates that most programs would easily be able to accommodate these recommended course requirements

Oral Communication Learning Outcomes:

 Students will understand and be able to explain the conventions and expectations of oral communication as practiced within the discipline of the course taken

 Students will apply theories and strategies for crafting messages (verbal, nonverbal, and visual) for particular audiences and purposes

 Students will craft oral messages after a conscious process in which various options are reviewed and will be able to explain and support their choices

 Students will meta-communicate about their own communication patterns

Hiring Managers,” Hart Research Associates conducted on behalf of the Association of American Colleges & Universities, July 2018, https://www.aacu.org/research/2018-future-of-work

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Written Communication Learning Outcomes:

 Students will demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of the varying strategies to convey arguments, main ideas and support/evidence

 Students will demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of the varying patterns of composition organization and development

 Students will demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of the audience, the role of the writer, and rhetorical strategies

 Students will demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of writing conventions and correctness

Language

Rationale: In today’s multicultural and global society, communication is the key to

understanding other peoples and cultures and the ability to communicate in more than one

language is increasingly becoming an essential skill and one that is sought after by employers Research has repeatedly shown that learning a foreign language has multiple added advantages including superior problem-solving skills, increased empathy, and learning a second language makes students more open to different ways of thinking and out-of-the-box solutions. 2 At the same time, every language implies a particular history and perception of the world and its most pressing problems The linguistic and cultural skills which our students acquire enable and encourage them to lead a life defined by respect for others and service to their community Intermediate competency in a second language may be demonstrated by:

 completion of 201 or higher in a language;

 a score of 620 or higher on any language SAT II subject test;

 a score of 3 or higher on any language AP Exam or on any Language and Literature AP

 Exam (including the Latin Vergil AP Exam);

 a score of 5 or higher on any group 2 (second language) higher-level IB Exam

[Additional scores on HL and SL IB exams may also satisfy the requirement Check the

equivalency chart carefully.];

 a passing score on the University of Mary Washington language competency exam;

 a rating of “Intermediate” on the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI);

 a rating equivalent to “Intermediate-Low Competency” on the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale on an approved third-party exam;

 a score of 60 or higher on the CLEP exam

 completion of Level IV in a language in high school as verified by high school transcript;

or

 the submission of pertinent documents which verify that a student has had a high school education conducted in a language other than English or has lived extensively in and become fluent in the language of a non-English-speaking country

Classical: Students can write brief compositions in the target language

 MLL: Students can understand the main idea in messages and presentations on familiar topics related to everyday life and personal interests and studies

Classical: Students can understand the main idea in simple messages and presentations on familiar topics

2 https://www.actfl.org/advocacy/what-the-research-shows/references-cognitive#intelligence

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 MLL: Students can understand the main idea of literary and non-literary texts when the topic is familiar

Classical: Students can understand the morphology and syntax of the target language, and can understand literary and non-literary texts

 Both: Students are acquainted with the variety of cultures and cultural perspectives

associated with the target language

Arts and Literature

Rationale: Human societies have found a richer understanding of the human experience through

arts, literature and performance They remain an integral element of the human experience today, especially as we encounter the way that creativity evolves As students are bombarded with unprecedented access to creative output, the engagement with these processes, as well as the historical and contemporaneous context of art and literature becomes all the more important The creative problem-solving skills and ability to critically analyze works that these courses impart to our students, as a part of a liberal arts education, better prepares them for cultural engagement, now and into the future

This category combines Arts, Literature, and Performance - Appreciation and Process with a renewed focus on literature, visual and performing arts and gives students the tools and language

to discuss and understand the works of others It also provides students with an understanding of the techniques required to produce their own creative work and/or the tools of critical analysis via historical, analytical, theoretical or aesthetic frameworks Through these courses the student

is able to develop methods required for engagement in the aesthetic, ethical, moral, material and content driven issues that works of art, literature and performance can raise

According to new SACSCOC rules, basic composition courses that do not contain a significant literature component, courses in oral communication, and introductory foreign language courses

cannot count toward the arts/humanities requirement

Learning Outcomes:

 Students will demonstrate knowledge of the processes used to create and/or interpret creative works or performances

 Students will critically analyze and evaluate the aesthetic and/or compositional qualities

of creative works or performances

 Students will communicate about diverse perspectives, theories, values, and contexts relating to works within an artistic medium or genre

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Humanities

Rationale: University of Mary Washington graduates will live in a world that requires them to

engage, appreciate, interpret, and understand the ideas and forces associated with our cultural and historical heritage Human societies find clarity, compassion, and a richer understanding of the human experience through the study of cultures, history, and philosophical and religious thought Courses that focus on the understanding of history, intellectual works, and human culture help students discover and appreciate the complexity of the human experience Study of the humanities promotes the development of critical inquiry skills and historical perspective, which helps students be able to understand differing views and experiences while examining their own and others’ beliefs This understanding helps students to develop critical consciousness and acquire the tools necessary for engagement and responsible action in their lives and society

According to new SACSCOC rules, basic composition courses that do not contain a significant literature component, courses in oral communication, and introductory foreign language courses

cannot count toward the arts/humanities requirement

 Students will formulate arguments, draw logical conclusions, or support ethical decisions

to engage key questions about humanity – our relation to nature, to society, and to

ourselves